Process of manufacturing insulating and plaster board from cornstalks



Patented Apr. 5-, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FFlCE.

JAMES J. HINDE; OF SANDUSKY, OHIO.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING INSULATING AND PLAS'IER BOARD FROM GORNSTALKS.

No Drawing.

.The objects of the invention are to provide an improved method of manufacturing lumber or sheets of board from Indian or sweet corn, or sorghum or broom corn, or grass-like growths, including stalks, tassels, husks. This improved board will have a porous structure-formed by incorporation of .screws can readily be inserted, and will be also Water-resisting and therefore not readily decayed by exposure to weather.

The first step of the process consists in taking the fairly ripened stalks, preferably after the grain has been husked or threshed to separate it therefrom, and cuttin or shredding them into suitable short pleces, after which it is soaked in water, which may be either hot or cold, to soften the fibres and glutinous saccharine matters contained in the cells thereof, andwithout the use of acids or alkalis, such as are commonly employed in treating fiber or pulp to prepare it for making paper products, and leaving it in the water for a sufficient length of time to soften it and permit it to be matted or felted in a treating machine of suitable character.

In the process care must be taken not to break or cut the fibers too short to be felted or interwoven by pressure or weight of the soft substance, or to prevent the mass when dried from having a loose or open texture, which is conducive to the preservation of its insulating qualities. The fibers should also be long enough to provide for the necessary tensile strength of the board for ordinary use as a covering material and to support a coating of mortar or plaster when it is used as a wall covering. Also the treatment preserves unimpaired the silica, lime, and other mineral or vegetable contents of the natural plant, and retains the natural water-resisting qualities of the plant, so that moisture will not injure it afterwards, as would be the case if the board were made of pulp treated in an alkali or acid solution, as in the making of ordinary paper or board products. Also treatment with chemicals would tend to convert the pith'into a parchment and destroy its insulating qualities.

Application filed November 17, 1924. Serial No. 750,479.

In this process the entire stalk and all parts of the corn are used except the grain and root, and the finer fibers of the leaves, pith and other soft material become interwoven or felted with the coarser fibers of the stalk and become cemented together by means of the natural glutinous solution de rived from the contents of the cells of the stalk and leaves.

This combination forms a structure that is wonderfully strong and resilient, and from this structure a board or other article can be constructed that will be of great value-as a-iwall covering in the home, as an insulation from heat and cold, and to absorb and prevent transmission of noise. The board as thus constructed becomes filled with minute air cells, and is not compact or amorphous in structure, as in articles composed of ordinary viscose or cellulose material, and

hence its utility as an insulation in the building art and trades is great.

The product is not to be confused in any manner with paper products, either in the method or process of producing the same or in the quality or nature of the product. In paper all fibers are reduced to a pulp, whereas in corn stalks the outer skin or sheath is composed of long, strong fibers, and the leaves, pith, tassels and husks are formed of much finer fibers. These may be cut to suitable length before they are softened in water. It is from the pith that the insulating qualities are obtained.

To carry out the process the water soaked fiber is placedupon a screen and preferably subjected to a vacuum treatment or it may be subjected to any other suction treatment, to extract the moisture therefrom and to felt or interweave the fibers. The resulting mass-may be then passed over a screen and simultaneouslv submitted to a further suction treatment to further extract the mois ture therefrom, the resulting material is then enclosed between two belts of coarse or loose material which may be felt, and passed between rollers which may be suction rollers or other drying apparatus, to remove part of the excess moisture therefrom.

It is preferable to manufacture the material in sheets of one ply -which may be of any suitable thickness, or if necessary several plies may be cemented together to construct an insulation of superior quality.

After the board has been formed and a portion of the; excess of moisture has been removed therefrom, the material is then carried to a drying apparatus by means of which a further absorption or abstraction of water is accomplished, which might be by means of direct application-of heat thereto or by the passage of a heated medium therethrough, or by centrifugal or other force as may be most convenient, until a predetermined small percent of moisture remains. A certain amount of moisture must be retained to prevent the product from becoming brittle.

By means of this process the material 18 formed into a body, after the fibers are separated, in which all the natural elements of the plant are preserved.

These elements are then combined to form sheets or bodies of various forms which may be employed in the mechanical arts in many ways, and are-produced without the use of any foreign chemicals to soften or alter the natural condition of the plant elements, or to remove any of them, or to recombine them into an amorphous material. In this process the lime and other mineral elements are retained and the glutinous substances such as sugar and starch, with which the plant has been provided by nature, remain intact.

The glutinous matter when preserved in this manner is provided with sufficient sizing qualities to make the fibers adhere together, and to give a water-resisting character to the product, which would not be possible if they were removed by washing in caustics or acids.

Also it is understood that the fibre is not washed in clear water as is common in manufacturing board or paper pulp from natural fibre, and hence no dissolvable mineral or vegetable elements are wasted, but the water in which the fibers are softened is used over and over again, thus pr'eventin any possible loss or waste of the natura material.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of manufacturing insulating lumber consisting first, in cutting or shredding the stalks, leaves, pith, tassels and husks or corn growth into portions and softening them by treatment in cold or lukewarm water, until the glutinous substances sandthe fibrous material therein have been softened, extracting a portion of the excess moisture therefromby suction or pressure, to compact and weave. or felt the finer fibres with the coarser fibres and further drying the product between suitable porous carriers, at sufliciently high degree of temperature to evaporate the moisture therefrom, and until a thick fibrous and porous insulating board-has been produced thereby.

2. The process or method of constructing an insulating lumber or boardfrom corn stalks consisting in, first, shredding the stalks including pith and hardened skin, into short portions, immersing the same in water. in'a container to softenthe same and the glutinous content therein, and pressing the same to felt the coarser and finer fibers together, and to extract some of the moisture stalk and attached parts, except the grain,

into short portions, immersing the same in water to soften the fibres and glutinous content therein, and then felting the coarser and finer fibres together and extracting a .portion. of the moisture therefrom, and

finally evaporating the remaining moisture therefrom between porous dryers.

4. A process or method for producing orous insulating and water-resisting lumer from corn stalks consisting in, first shredding the stalks and pith into short sections, softening the same and the glutinous content therein by immersion in warm water in a suitable container, submitting the same to moisture extracting mechanism to extract the most of the moisture therefrom, and to felt the same into 'a sheet of'predetermined thickness, and finally extracting the remainingmoisture therefrom by evaporation by heat treatment between felts and returning the extracted moisture produced by pressure and condensation to said container for treatment of a subsequent mass of fibre.

5. The heretofore described process of producing a decay resisting and insulating board from corn stalks and attached parts without the addition of caustic or acid solution thereto, consisting in, shredding the parts into short portions, softening the same in water in,a suitable container until the fibrous and glutinous substances therein are softened, felting or weavin the resulting coarse and fine fibres and pith into a suitable mass containing the glutinous matters therein by compacting and forming the mass, and finally subjecting the mass to an evaporating heat between porous conveyors to remove the moisture therefrom.

6. The hereinbefore described intensive process of forming porous insulating lumber from a mass of corn stalks, consisting in, shredding the stalks, softening the same and the saccharine and glutinous contents thereof in water in a container, pressing and felting the resulting softened substance to and felting the same,

form a thick porous board, containing the glutinous content, and drying the same byforming insulating lumber or board from corn stalks containing pith, forming the stalks into short sections, softening the said material and glutinous contents in water and finally evaporating the moisture therefrom by passing between flexible porous supports at an evaporating temperature.

8. The process or method of constructing a porous insulating board or lumber from cornstalks, consisting in, first shredding the stalk and attached parts, except the grain, into short portions, immersing the same in water to soften the fibres and glutinous content therein and then felting the coarser and finer fibres together and extracting a portion of the moisture therefrom, and finally evaporatin the remaining moisture. 9. An article of manufacture comprising a shaped mass of long ,and short corn'fibres bonded together with a vegetablev adhesive derived from'corn waste. In testimony whereof, I hereunto set my hand this 5th day of November, 1924.

JAMES J.- HINDE. 

